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So I’ve been looking for a set of headers for my M20 stroker build for a while. Unfortunately, as most of you know, the available options are very polarized. Either you can spend $1000+ on a set of name brand headers that fit wonderfully, or you can spend $200 on a set of ebay headers and hope that the stars were aligned when that set was welded to have a chance that they fit at all. It’d be nice if there was a middle ground right? That use to be the Bavauto headers, but unfortunately they discontinued their header program last year. For those of you who are unfamiliar with the Bavauto headers, they are a true long tube header. The primaries are 1 3/8” diameter and the collectors are 2” diameter. The headers are manufactured out of AKDQ mild steel and then coated. Here are a few pictures of what they look like installed:

After a couple e-mails with Bavauto I found out that they were getting their headers manufactured by a company in Rockland, MA called Tubular Automotive and then sent out to Jet-Hot for coating. Last week I called them up to see if they’d make me a set. Once I found out they would, I inquired about group buy pricing. After speaking with them today I have the following information to report…

Traditionally Bavauto would sell these headers with the mid-section that deletes the cat and resonator. However after speaking with the company they offered me pricing on just the headers as well as the headers and mid-section. Please note that without the mid-section you will need to have an exhaust shop connect the dots for you. The only reason I asked for this option is because some people may have no use for the catless midsection and will need to get a custom mid-section fabricated to include a cat for emissions purposes.

For the 325i and 325e the price for a set of uncoated headers will be $500. The price for the headers and mid-section is $550. At 10 sets the price will drop by $10 so $490 and $540 respectively.

For the 318i the price of a set of uncoated headers will be $490, however that price includes the mid-section. From what he said, the mid-section on the 318i header was welded to the header. So if you want no mid-section it will be dealt with on a per-case basis. The same discount applies here at 10 sets

The discount will apply to the total number of sets, regardless of whether they are 325 or 318.

If you’d like your headers coated, Tubular Automotive will send them to a local coater. The price is $200 per set for the 325 and $190 for the 318i and if the volume was high enough (5-10+ sets) the coater will give a 10% discount on that price.

On a final note, one thing that the gentleman at Tubular Automotive mentioned to me is that the pricing might float a little bit depending on what price he can buy the material at. The pricing he gave me was based on what it was costing them to make the headers when they were buying high volumes of the material, however he hasn’t had to buy the material in a while since the demand was so low. This time around he won’t be buying as much so he warned me that he may have to adjust the pricing slightly once he prices out the material. Availability of the material will also determine what the lead time will be on manufacturing these headers, however once they have the material in house the turn around will be fairly quick (3-4 weeks).

Also, these prices do not include shipping. The gentleman at Tubular Automotive said that they could ship to your doorstep but the cost will depend on the location and will be determined on a per-order basis (shipping will be with UPS standard).

With all that being said, I’m posting this to see whose interested in a set of these headers? If you’re interested please PM me or add your name to the list with the type of header you want (325 or 318 cyl), if you want the mid-section (6-cyl only), coated or uncoated, and the number of sets (if you want more than one set).

Just to help me keep track, and so you can see the number of people interested in buying a set, I'm going to cross reference the list of interested parties across the different forums that I have the group buy posted on...

Are the 318 headers 4-2-1 like stock or 4-1? If they are 4-2-1 how do they differ from stock... Thanks!

I spoke with the guy at Tubular at lunch. He confirmed that it is a 4-1 header

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ceeker

what coating are they using? is this to for just esthetics @ POS or does it prevent discoloration?

I was told that it's a ceramic coating. It's a 2 stage coating. First they coat the inside and outside. Then they do a second coating on the outside so that when they are polished in a bead tumbler it doesn't thin out the original coating.